JUAREZ -- A federal judge's decision today could be crucial in determining the future of a U.S. trucker being held in a Mexican prison and accused of trafficking thousands of rounds of ammunition into Mexico.

Jabin Akeem Bogan, 27, was arrested by Mexican authorities in April this year after he drove a tractor-trailer with 268,000 rounds of ammunition across the international Bridge of the Americas.

Bogan, whose employer said he was transporting legitimate cargo to a gun store in Phoenix, contends he entered Mexico accidentally after he took a wrong turn that led him to the bridge.

His attorney in Mexico, José Emilio de la Rosa, said he has requested a federal appeals court in Juárez to reduce his charges from trafficking to possession of ammunition.

Weapons and ammunition trafficking is highly penalized in Mexico -- up to 30 years in prison -- but a guilty verdict for possession carries a much lower sentence of between two and six years in prison.

If federal magistrate judge Víctor Manuel Flores Jiménez accedes, Bogan would qualify for conditional release while he waits for his trial. He would not be allowed to leave the country until then, De la Rosa said.

Even if he's found guilty, it is likely Bogan would get the minimum sentence, because he has no criminal record in Mexico.

Bogan is currently being held at a prison in the southeastern state of Veracruz, accused of having violated Mexico's anti-gun laws.

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Alejandro Martínez-Cabrera can be reached at a.martinez@elpasotimes.com; 546-6129. Follow him on Twitter @AlejandroEPT.

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